The Future of Encryption Under Trump

One way or another, 2017 will likely see the reopening of the “debate” on encryption in the U.S. In a sphere of discourse increasingly ruled less by fact and more by whom can yell loudest, advocates of a safe, functional Internet will need to raise their voices.

It would be apt to say that the result of the recent U.S. presidential election has thrown many advocacy and civil rights groups into a kind of circumspect panic. President-elect Donald Trump has taken a myriad of misinformed and often shifting policy positions on a great many serious issues, including technology, surveillance, and Internet freedom. 

In particular, Donald Trump’s remarks on encryption and tech security have broadly terrified the IT community. Savvy readers will remember that earlier this year, Apple engaged in a heated battle with the FBI, who had demanded that Apple write custom firmware to help crack the passcode on an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The FBI’s request, while seemingly innocuous to some, represents the thin edge of a wedge: one which demands that technology companies deliberately sabotage the security of their products in order to satisfy the demands of government and law enforcement. 

One of the people incensed by Apple’s refusal to help the FBI break into the aforementioned iPhone was Donald Trump, who famously raged: “Who do they think they are?” At the same time, Trump called for a boycott of Apple products, clearly taking the position that Apple should acquiesce law enforcement in any way required. Trump has also talked about closing parts of the internet and building technologies to defeat encryption, two statements which clearly indicate a serious lack of knowledge – and advice – on how these technologies actually function. 

While encryption technology itself is quite complicated, the plain facts about the importance of encryption to cyber-security are simple: there is no such thing as a “secure backdoor.” Creating deliberate vulnerabilities in software doesn’t just make entry points for “the good guys,” but for hackers, criminals, and terrorists as well. Anyone with a grounding in IT security will tell you: malicious hackers work hard to find unknown vulnerabilities in software and networks, so they might exploit those vulnerabilities for profit and other gain. 

As far as our digital infrastructure is concerned, strong encryption is as important as concrete and steel rebar are to our real-world infrastructure. In both cases, without the core component, the infrastructure we depend on is brittle, and even outright dangerous.

It’s difficult to speculate too much on what may happen without citing Trump’s frequently outlandish behaviour or consulting a crystal ball. Nonetheless, Trump has already tapped Congressman Mike Pompeo, an outspoken critic of encryption and Silicon Valley at large, to head the CIA. 

On the other hand, some of the biggest online-based companies in the US sent President-Elect Trump a letter detailing a number of points, including the protection of strong encryption. Seeing as how Trump styles himself as a champion of American industry, perhaps these companies are the voices most likely to sway his opinion?

One way or another, 2017 will likely see the reopening of the “debate” on encryption in the U.S. In a sphere of discourse increasingly ruled less by fact and more by whom can yell loudest, advocates of a safe, functional Internet will need to raise their voices.

Given the threats, OpenMedia will be hard at work to protect your digital security in 2017. Can you chip in today to ensure we can take the bold action that’s needed?

Jesse Schooff is a veteran IT professional and technical communicator. As a volunteer blogger for OpenMedia he specializes in issues of privacy and information security. You can find more of his writing at geekman.ca